SHORT-LIVED BUSHRANGERS

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2657, 12 November 1909, Page 2 (Supplement)

SHORT-LIVED BUSHRANGERS

SERIES OF SENSATIONAL STORIES <Ry Charles White, Author of '“Australian Bushrangers,” “Old Convict Days,” etc.) (Published by Special Arrangement.) The following constitute the stories: ,1. The Chinese Highwayman. 11. Two Bloodthirsty “Break-o’-Day” Boys. 111. A Raid with a Tragic Ending. IV. Holding Up the Gold Escort. V. The Chinese Shepherd and his Cheques. VI. Young Bendigo’s Gang and the Diggers. VII. A Harmless Duel with Rifles. VIII. A Night Raid Frustrated. IX. Held up for Seven Hours. X. Turning the Tables: A Bushranger Killed by Chinamen. XI. The' Murder at Diamond Creek Station. XII. A Sequel to the Mudgee Mail Robbery. XIII. The Bushrangers and the Carrier. XIV. The Mail Robber and the Cheques XV. Amongst the Bogan Stations. Chased ror ovJO miles and shot down. XVI. A Constable whose Pluck atoned for his Folly. XVII. Another Policeman’s Mistake. lII._A RAID WITH A TRAGIC ENDING. The majority of the diggers who had been successful in their search lor gold, and who desired to visit their homes tier in the early {lays wife and family remained in the town or on the farm while the husband went hunting for -old), taking with them their little diamoise-lcathcv bug, with some ol' the -old dust and nuggets won on the field, generally travelled by coach; and aceasionallv the mail coach—as a rule the only vehicle plying between the town and the diggings—would contain only passengers oi this class. Naturallj, therefore, the foot pads and bushrangers generally looked out for mail day, and the “stit'king-up” of the mail coach when it had reached a lonely part of the road became a thing of frequent occurrence. The New South Wales “rangers” were the first to operate in this direction, and so troublesome did they become* that every journey by mail eatne to be looked upon as dangerous, and various devices were resorted to bv those compelled to travel to save their property from confiscation. The Government, also was moved to action, and sought, in many ways to make the journey less hazardous, and to secure a safe passage for the mail bags, which generally contained money, letters and ether valuables. To this end, in November, 1853, the following proclamation was issued: — Colonial Secretary’s Office, Sydney, 21st. November, 1853 “Whereas it has been represented to

the Government that the mails on certain roads have been repeatedly robbed, and it- is considered expedient to establish a fixed scale of Rewards, applying in all cases of Alail Robberies; His Excellency the Governor-General directs it to be notified that for such information, within six calender months after the commission of the offence, as shall lead to the apprehension and conviction of these implicated, a reward of

Twenty Pounds will be paid in each case of mail robbery unattended by violence, and a reward of Fifty Pounds in each case in which xhc guilty parties have been armed and have used violence, and

tint in addition to the above reward respectively, application will bo made to Her Majesty for tlu: allowance of a Conditional Pardon to the person giving the information, if a prisoner of the Crown.

By His Excellency’s Command. E. DEAS. THOMSON.”

The last clausa in this proclamation shows that the shadow of the old days of convictism still rested upon the colony. A similar clause was invariably inserted in proclomations relating to convicts who were classed as runaways or who had committed offences and disappeared, during the days when the clank of the chain and the switch of the “cat-o’-nine-tails” formed the daily accompaniment of that “service of Gov•ernment” to which so many thousands had been condemned. But although many conditional pardo;*.3 were won by convicts through ‘‘preaching” on their “pals,” it is not on record that any prisoner of the Crown earned liberty by giving "information” against mail robbers in the golden days. As a matter of fact, the system of convictism was in its death throes when the golden era set in, and although the worst of the ex-convicts took full advantage of the opportunities offered on the roads and the gold fields to enrich themselves at the expense of others, they were not responsible for half the mail and other robberies laid to their charge in New South Wales, whatever may be said of Victoria, to which place there was so large ari influx from that prison -land of the worst class of prisoners—Tasmania. Some of the cases of mail robberies and other offences on the highways which are here chronicled were not less sensational than those committed on the Hounslow' Heath and other resorts of highw'ay men of the Dick Turpin, el ass in the Old Country; yet all the penetrators were not of those who, in the words of the old-time verse, had ’’left their country for their country’s good.” In the early sixties a very hold raid was made upon a mining camp in the heart of a .populous gold field, by two ' young fellows who essayed the role of bushrangers. They had stole two horses, one of them a racer, and at daybreak on a fine Sunday morning waylaid the mail coach from Orange to Wellington (N.S.W.) when, after a night journey, it was nearing its destination. Hav-

ing overhauled the mailbags and taken therefrom whatever money-letters they could find, they gave the mail-driver permission to resume his journey with the throe passengers (one male and two females) on the eoaeli, and then galloped off in the direction of Ironharks, a flourishing mining township distant a few miles from Wellington. They appear to have remained in hiding somewhere in this locality until the following Thursday, when they suddenly made their appearance ill the township in a manner at once sensational and alarming. The shareholders of one of the rich quartz claims had finished “clean-ing-up” at the battery where their golden stone had been crushed, and having retorted the gold, were carrying the cakes (valued at between £4OO and £500) up to the store, some four hundred yards distant, when they were startled by the sudden appearance of two horsemen, who galloped up to them and demanded the treasure: How they got it and the double tragedy which was attendant upon .its getting is best told by one of the parties concerned —James Osborne, a, publican at the “Banks, and one -of the shareholders. Here is his story:— “I, and the rest of the sharliolders — Daniel Hosling; a German, Peter Du Pay; a Frenchman, John Caugherty; and Robert Hutton—were retorting some gold at Smith's crushing machine. We got some 130 ounces in two cakes, which Caugherty was carrying in an earthenware basin. V, hen we were about a hundred yards from the maculae, wo saw two men galloping down the hill towards us. When they came within four or five yards- of us they pulled out firearms, and covered us, one of them falling out to Caugherty “Drop that.” We hesitated a little, wlun he called out that if we didn’t drop it at once lie* would blow our brains out! i told Caugherty that lie had better put it down, as it was no use holding out. He put the gold down and then both the bushrangers called out: “Stand back!” We commenced stepping backwards and they ordered us to 'keep together. They then urged their horses with the intention of dismounting to get the gold, when we made a. simultaneous rush forward to frighten them away. Our sudden action startled the horses, anti we kept throwing up our hands ami calling out “Help!” when one of the horsemen sang out to his companion “Shoot them!” and himself fired at the Frenchman, but the shot went wide. The other bushranger then fired at the German, who was nearest the gold, and I saw him put his hand to his leg as if he had been hit. One of the bushrangers then hurriedly dismounted close to the gold, and when in the act of lifting it up the German made a rush at him, and when lie had got to within three or four yards of him the bushranger presented his rifle and shot him through the breast. The German staggered back, crying “I’ll die! I’ll die! and drew back. I then saw the bushranger get on his horse with the gold and gallop away up the hill with his mate. I then looked across the creek and saw William Bragg, a butcher, taking aim at the bushrangers lrom near his shop with a rifle, and turning again to watch the bushrangers, I heard the report of the rifle, and saw the horse the- man was riding flinch as if lie had been hit, but lie -did not fail, and the two men galloped over the hill cut of sight. Both men had their faces blackened as if they had been rubbed over with a black rag. and their beards had also been blackened in the same way.”

The wounded German was carried up to the store, where the bullet (which had entered below the breast and lodged in the back) was extracted by l')r. Itygate ;and to the surprise of everyone he made a-rapid recovery. The'bushrangers were about a liuihlt red and twenty yards from Bragg when lie fired, but the effectiveness of the shot was not immediately seen, and it was thought they had got clean away. The bullet had found'"its billet, however, having passed clean through the body o 7 the man who carried the gout, but who, nevertheless, retained his seat in the saddle until the horse had covered another three hundred yards, when he fell. His robber companion, seeing that lie had been stricken to death, at once dismounted, seized the buttons of gold which he had been carrying, UiIVA they galloped away into the bush. The man had not been seen to fall by any of' the diggers or . the people at the store, who were as pleased as they were surprised when the dead body was discovered lying on the road, with the rifle and revolver beside it.

The dead buslyanger was identified as a man named Garvey, who, up to a few days of the robbery had been working at the public crushing mill, and who doubtless knew that Osborne’s party would have their gold ready for ta'king when lie and liis mate visited Ironbarks. Garvey’s body was interred in the bush near tlie camp, after the usual magisterial inquiry into the cause of death had been held.

Three weeks after the robbery’ a young man named George Bell was arrested on the Turon diggings, some sixty or seventy' miles distant from Ironbarks on suspicion of being the second principal in the outrage. He was brought to Bathurst and charged at the Police Court with shooting at and wounding the German with intent to murder him. Witnesses from Ironbarks swore to Ids identity as one of the gold robbers, and he was remanded back to gaol to await trial at the Assize Court. But it was ordained that he should ap-' pear before a higher , tribunal than any earthly court., Two days after his commitment he was seized with fever, which ran a very speedy course and terminated in death before the day arrived which had been fixed xtpon for his trial. - ■ i -

The stolen gold was never traced or recovered.